Finding life from loss

Ofelia Dominguez adds final touches to a mixed media portrait of her daughter, Andrea Rae Dominguez, during a ceremony at the Del Sol Medical Center Wall of Heroes Thursday. Watching is her husband, Dick Dominguez, right, and Del Sol CEO Jacob Cintron, center.

Cyndi Chavez, left, of the Southwest Transplant Alliance, hands out roses to attendees during the Wall of Heroes event.

The anguish of losing a daughter remains in the hearts and minds of Ofelia and Dick Dominguez.

But in a split second, those tears of pain and sadness were quickly transformed to tears of joy and pride.

Such was the case last week as the Dominguez family put the finishing touches on a memorial floragraph portrait honoring their daughter -- and organ donor -- Andrea Rae Dominguez.

Her portrait will be part of the Donate Life Rose Parade float: "Light Up the World." The Rose Parade is New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif.

"Organ donation is an important thing for everybody," Ofelia Dominguez said. "Nobody wants to be making those decisions at that last minute. Luckily, Andrea made it a little easier for us. When you think about all the people that she saved, it's amazing. It's a good feeling to know."

REPORTER

Victor Martinez

Andrea was a passenger in the back seat of a Toyota Corolla in 2005 when it struck another vehicle. She was thrown from the car and taken to what was then Thomason Hospital (now University Medical Center). She died eight days later. She was 22 years old.

Andrea signed up to be an organ donor when she was 16 years old.

"When she went to get her driver's license, they asked her if she wanted to be an organ donor," Ofelia Dominguez said. "She asked me what I thought and I told her it was up to her. She was already a blood donor, so it was easier for her to say, 'Yes, of course.' If she could do something to help others, why not?"

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The 2014 Donate Life Rose Parade Float entry features a festival of lanterns illuminating 30 riders -- all organ and tissue transplant recipients -- and 12 living organ donors walking alongside to demonstrate their ongoing vitality.

The float also will include five enormous lanterns, which will be adorned with 72 memorial floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies of life live on.

The Dominguez family and staff members of Del Sol Medical Center gathered in front of the hospital's Wall of Heroes last week to honor organ donors.

"Here is someone who was so young and had already talked to her parents about organ donation, and if something would ever happen she would like to donate her organs," said Jacob Cintron, CEO at Del Sol Medical Center. "Even in a moment of tragedy and loss, she and her parents were able to think not only of their internal being but how they could help others continue to live."

Ofelia and Dick Dominguez's act of gratitude toward the staff at UMC for taking care of their daughter in her final days evolved into the formation of the Wall of Heroes, a national movement where hospitals honor their organ donors with a photo display.

"I still remember when I took a small picture of Andrea to the ICU unit where they were just wonderful," Ofelia Dominguez said. "There wasn't enough I could say to thank them. I felt that I needed to take back something, and I took them that little memorial with the poem, 'To Remember Me -- I Will Live Forever.' They posted it and because of that picture and poem, there was another family, and they decided to donate. It just grew from there. It's been amazing."

The first Wall of Heroes in the country was established in November 2008 at University Medical Center.

"One person can save the lives of eight people and enhance the lives of up to 50 people," said Cyndi Chavez, family services coordinator for Southwest Transplant Alliance. "People have to talk to their family and make that decision to donate."

Dominguez, who will travel to Pasadena with her husband to be part of the parade, said Andrea would have been proud of starting something such as the Wall of Heroes.

"She had a great compassion for other people and that made people feel at ease," she said. "She would have felt right with all of this."

When asked if her daughter was a college football fan, Dominguez simply smiled and said: "She was a fan of fun, she really was. She would have totally enjoyed it."

Victor R. Martinez may be reached at 546-6128.

Understanding donation

•According to Donate Life Texas, there is a critical shortage of organs, tissues and eyes available for donation. There are more than 113,000 patients in the United States awaiting transplantation -- more than 11,000 are Texans.

•Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list.

•Every day, an average of 18 people die waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

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